Oncologist reveals new leukemia treatment

By Logan Lafferty

A new breakthrough in treating leukemia in children shows how far research has come in combating cancer, according to an oncologist at Mayo Clinic Health System in Eau Claire. Dr. Dan Burns said the goal is to get the body's own immune system to fight cancer cells, and that's the case in a study released this month by the Griffith University's Institute for Glycomics and the Saban Research Institute of Children's Hospital in Los Angeles. "It's a bit of the Holy Grail of cancer therapy, getting the body to fight the cancer cells," Burns, 54, said Thursday. "We're getting a lot better at mass-producing, or treating, a lot of patients."